Two novel InDels within the promoter of SIRT1 are associated with growth traits in chickens

ABSTRACT

1. The objectives of the present study were to elucidate the relationship between novel variations of the SIRT1 gene and chicken growth traits. In total, 1,429 chickens, including six breeds and a Gushi ×Anka F2 resource population, were genotyped using PCR-RFLP.

2. Two novel InDels (c.-1552_-1553insCG and c.-450_-451delCG) in the promoter of the chicken SIRT1 gene were identified. An association study showed that c.-1552_-1553insCG was significantly correlated with growth traits and serum lipid indicators.

3. The insertion genotype was most highly associated with body weight at day old, two- and four-week-old chickens, and with shank circumference at four and eight weeks of age. The wild type genotype at this site was most highly associated with serum lipid indicators.

4. In contrast, c.-450_-451delCG was significantly correlated with muscle fibre diameter. The SIRT1 gene expression in chickens with different InDel genotypes was analysed and was significantly higher with heterozygous genotypes at both sites in muscle and fat tissue, relative to expression in chickens with the corresponding homozygous genotypes.

5. The effects of different haplotypes on SIRT1 promoter activity showed that promoter activity depends on haplotype, with haplotype HapII exhibiting the highest activity.

6. It was concluded that the SIRT1 gene is associated with chicken growth traits and that the two InDels influence SIRT1 promoter activity in chickens.

KEYWORDS:

• SIRT1 gene
• growth traits
• chicken
• InDel
• promoter activity

Abbreviations

BW, birth weight; BW2, body weight at 2-week old; BW4, body weight at 4-week old; BW8, body weight at 8-week old; BW10, body weight at 10-week old; BW12, body weight at 12-week old; SL0, shank length at birth; SL4, shank length at 4-week old; SL8, shank length at 8-week old; SL12, shank length at 12-week old;SG4, shank girth at 4-week old; SG8, shank girth at 8-week old; SG12, shank girth at 12-week old; LBM, length of breast muscle fibre; GLU, glucose; TC, the total serum cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; LLM, length of leg muscle fibre; WLM, width of leg muscle fibre; GLM, girth of leg muscle fibre; DLM, density of leg muscle fibre; AKP, Alkaline phosphatase.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of data and material

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

Author contribution

Conception and design of the study: YDT, WTL, and XTK. Performance and data analysis: WTL, DDL, XLL, XJM, CL, JL, QL, NZ, YFC, and ZJL. Wrote and revised manuscript: DDL and WTL. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31872987). The funding agencies were not involved in the experimental design, analysis, and interpretation of the data or writing of the manuscript.